Quite a Day Ahead

 

It's a quiet Saturday morning.

Really quiet, in fact. 

Sean is somewhere in the wilds of North Carolina as I write, bound for Myrtle Beach.

For the record, he got Waffle House after being told the first one they stopped at was close. He was asleep when they stopped as they drove all night.

Further for the record, Dad (that's me) called BS on it being closed because, unless it's out of business, it can't be closed. They're open 24/7 barring truly deadly weather.

But, alas, all was well in Sean World. He sent me a picture of his All-Star Special and I was happy for him. 

Except...he told me the car he was in had exited I-95 before reaching South of the Border and, thus, they were not heading to Buc-ee's.

He was bummed.

Guess he and Dad (again, me) will need to make that trip once we can afford to do so.

Also, I got the honor of driving him up to Dutchess County to drop him off at his friend's house for the trip. Not that, you know, he could have left his car there (as I said he could).

So, I'm here in the quiet of Greenwich before heading to the stadium (again, in Dutchess County) and on to Rhode Island for part one of that adventure.

Oh yeah, the car, the teaching, and The Cat will be in play this week.

There is, of course, something glorious to be said about being home alone and I'm enjoying that. Nobody knows how to party like me and Rascal Squeaky Beast.

He's currently asleep and I have YouTubers Trent & Allie on as I sip coffee and write.

And this, friends, is my window to write. I have to pull myself together after this and head to the stadium for today's adventure.

If you haven't been following along, tonight is the first time I will serve as the on-field host for a Renegades game.

Only a select few have served this role. Rick Zolzer did it the most from 1994 until under a month ago. In fact, at one time, he was on-field host and public address announcer. The team changed that in 2022 and that's when I shifted over to PA.

Zolz, in my opinion, perfected it, and I learned a ton from watching him. 

"Fish," as literally everyone knows him (I've never called him by his given name) has done a wonderful job over the past month, again working with me as the PA voice from above.

I should mention that there are other PA announcers, including Stephen Colvin, who have been that "voice from the booth." In some ways, that role is the straight man to the on-field host though I definitely tried to play more of a sarcastic wise guy. But we tended to know that the on-field person was the star.

I was always cautious about knowing my lane and giving Zolz and Fish the space to do their thing.

So, overall, I stuck to announcing names and sponsor reads, with an occasional rejoinder where possible. 

I also worked Zach Neubauer as the on-field host and the reviews were really strong for us.

But time and circumstances change things. Zach, for instance, is now down in Greenville, SC. 

Oh, and Saturdays are big nights for DJs and MCs, which Fish, Colvin, Mikey Beats, and other Renegades "voices" are.

I, however, am not. I'm just a sad, out-of-work play-by-play announcer.

And so Jamie Goerke, Manager, Game Day Promotions & Programming, texted me to see if I wanted to be the on-field host.

I was calling Trumbull's Little League state championship win at the moment so I let the game finish and took a deep breath before I replied that I'd give it a try.

Look, I've said a few times that the opportunity intrigued me. To say it is decidedly different from 34 years of journalism and reporting is an understatement.

Sean, Susan, Fish, Mikey "Clicks," and even Zolz himself have been among those to pass along encouragement.

I won't be Zolz. I won't be Fish. I won't be Zach or Colvin.

Red Barber once told Vin Scully that the most important thing he could bring to the booth was himself. I'll do the same.

It will happen naturally. It won't be forced. If I'm "on," I'll bring the sarcasm and snark.

I'm still not 100% sure who the PA announcer will be but that will all work itself out. I also know Mikey "Clicks" and Anthony will be in the booth for audio and video, respectively, so I've got a pro team that I'm working with.

I'll draw on the lessons learned from the others. I'll draw on my experiences as a conference moderator and banquet host. And, sure, I can draw on my ability to ad-libe from my years of broadcasting.

That doesn't mean it will be a hit but I'm going to give it my best.

If I feel OK about it when I drive away, then I consider it a win.

But, then again, I'm proud of myself for trying.

Now, it's time to go crush it.

Then I hope to ride that wave of energy to Rhode Island.

I get to be a play-by-play announcer again tomorrow as Trumbull plays Braintree, MA at 2:30 p.m. Bobby Gerbert will join me for the call on Robcasting and Gamechanger. People from Braintree have actually asked if I'll be calling the game and that's such a huge compliment.

I've also been asked to take on a few extra football games along with some hockey (!) in October and that brightens my spirits.

Of course, it would be nice if one of the scenarios of a full-time gig were to play out.

But that's for another day. 

It's time to be an on-field host.